Just A Little Longer
by spazmoid
Summary: Chiara looked away before she was caught staring and played pretend. She was going to act like she did not notice just how beautiful Julchen was for a little while longer. (happy christmas mutzco!)


_{happy christmas muztco!}_

* * *

Chiara wrapped the scarf around her mouth before heading out. Her sisters as well as her childhood best friend had all insisted she come to the neighbouring sorority party. Chiara had told them she was not in the mood, but they had insisted. Chiara made a face that was unreadable beneath her heavy clothing. What Alice, Juliet and Isabel had not realised was that she had a terrible cold, and it was getting worse with every second she was not in her bed. She would have already done something about it, but with exams and holidays coming up, who had the time? More importantly, Isabel had practically begged her to come as her underclassman representative. Chiara always did have a hard time truly denying the older woman anything.

Chiara looked up to see nothing in front of her or behind her. She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. The sidewalk had been buried in snow, and there was no street sign near as a telltale sign where she was. Her mind was too heavy and fogged to actually think of panic. She sneezed viciously from behind her scarf and stumbled. Before she even knew it, she was in the snow. A cold breeze blew past her and caused her to shiver. Fuck all of them. She was going home.

She stood with much difficulty, sneezing all the way to her feet. There was a queasiness in her stomach, and then there was vomiting what little she had had for breakfast and lunch into the bushes next to whoever's house she had just happened to pass by. Her shaking had gotten worse, and all Chiara wanted to do was go home. Now. It had been a mistake to leave her house when she felt this sick. She had not thought it was so bad when she had left her dorm room. She swore it had only been a tiny headache when she had left.

One foot clumsily placed itself in front of the other as she continued to walk. She was so tired, and the only thing she wanted to do was sleep. She wanted to be in her bed, not surrounded by trees. Trees? The observation made Chiara look up to the branches that blocked her view of the moon but not the unremitting falling snow.

She felt the nausea return with the first wave of panicked worry. She was lost. It was unbelievable, but it was true. Chiara Lovina Vargas was lost in the woods, and she had absolutely no idea how to get home. The realisation was exhausting. Another thing to worry over was not what she had needed.

Snow welcomed her knees as she fell. It seeped between her fingers and through her cotton gloves. For the first time, Chiara noticed just how soft the snow was. It was like a white fleece blanket. Chiara fell down into the powdered crystals, and imagined it was her bed. She could hardly feel the cold now. She was not sure whether to blame her sudden calm on her foggy mind or the actual weather. For all she knew someone could actually be placing a blanket over her curled up figure.

A smile crossed Chiara's lips. Yes. That was it. This was all just a dream, and she was asleep in her bed. She was in bed because she was sick. (Chiara had to remind herself of that.)

A violent tremor overtook Chiara's body. She did not know why she was so very cold, but she was. She closed her eyes in attempt to will it away. A tactic that worked as the fog in her mind thickened and blocked out everything but the sound of the wind. Then, as Chiara tightened her foetal position and slowed her breathing, even that went unheard.

.

.

Julchen was sober. This fact put her in a rather sour mood. When she was coming home from a party, she liked to be good and drunk. She liked to be so pissed that she would stumble into her house and into her bed only to fall asleep instantly. She liked to be so drunk she was oblivious to her younger sister's constant nagging. However, this time was not the case.

Isabel had shown up to the party looking like a mess. She had ran over to Julchen, and made her spill her entire beer onto the floor. Before Julchen had had a chance to curse at her for it, she had began jammering on about how she had tried Chiara's phone and then her house, but had gotten no answer. Julchen had been about to ask just what the big deal was, but the way Isabel had carried on made it seem like a Very Big Deal. She had known Chiara and Isabel were close, but not that close. In her observance of the pair, Chiara always appeared to be annoyed by the college senior.

"Schiesse," Julchen cursed. If only she had not been so close to Isabel, she would not be in this mess. She had ended up saying she would help, and just had to go home and change into a thicker coat. The snow was beginning to fall heavier, and if Isabel was making her join some sort of search party, she wanted to be prepared.

A heavy sigh passed her lips. She was still upset over being sober, but it was unlike Chiara to _not_ give into Isabel's persistence after such a long while. Once upon a time when Julchen had asked the freshman why she always gave in, Chiara had snippily replied about how "that idiot tomato bitch won't stop unless I make her."

Julchen had translated how she just did not want her friend to worry.

"You suck at not making people worry Chi," Julchen muttered as she made her way through snow and ice. A heavier sigh passed her lips. There had to be an easier way to her duplex than this. She should have drove, but there was no time to regret her decision to walk now. She took a glance at the woods. She could take a shortcut through the cluster of trees. Her home was just outside of them. She would save so much time doing it.

She grinned her signature toothy grin, and took off in a trot into the woods. Saving time meant more time for searching, and more time for searching meant more time for her to drink herself into a stupor later. She was sure Chiara would be easy enough to find. The Italian woman never went anywhere too long without getting a little too loud at some point. Julchen swore her cursing could be heard for miles.

Julchen laughed at the passing thought, but no one was around to hear but the trees. The laugh died to silence as she pushed herself past stubborn branches. She had forgotten the path always got thinner and harder to see when it snowed. In fact, it was practically impossible to make out under the coating of white.

"Ficken!" she yelled as she tripped over what she believed to be a rock and into the snow. She was still cursing as she sat up and brushed off of her arms. Damn. She was lucky she had not sprained something.

"-ulchen?" Julchen's eyes opened wide at the voice. It was muffled and sounded more like someone hundreds of miles away rather than right in front of her. She crawled to her knees and pushed aside snow until she saw familiar chestnut hair and a telltale curl that seemed to be going limp in the cold. She pushed aside more snow to discover a pale face. The usual flushed olive skin was now washed out and waxy. Dull hazel eyes stared up, not focusing on Julchen at all.

"Chiara!"

.

.

She felt it before she heard it. Whatever it was sounded familiar. Chiara opened her eyes, but all she could see was white and a bit of it tickled into her eyes. She blinked them back closed in hope for more of that sweet sleep she had just had. Her entire body hurt. The parts she could feel hurt anyway. She heard a laugh and fractured memories followed after it. Her mind had became a broken film tape. None of her memories connected. She only could think hazily of names, places and events that were not on the right track. Still, she recognised that voice. She did not even realise she had began saying the name she had managed to associate with the voice out loud.

The words Chiara heard in reply sounded too far away to be distinguished. She could barely feel the gloved fingers that brushed her face, but she could feel something else there. It was warmth, and oh how she wanted it. Now that she was awake she could feel it. She was cold. She was freezing, and she had a headache. Was the headache why she had came out here? No. That had been a party. A stupid party.

.

.

Julchen was trying to get Chiara out of the snow and into her arms. She pulled the younger woman into a sitting position. She let Chiara slump onto her chest, and then with more struggling she stood to her feet wobbling. It was a sloppy excuse for a bridal carry, but at least Chiara was out of the snow. She had to get the Italian woman to her house and fast. She had no idea just how long Chiara had been out in this weather, but she had a horrible feeling she was on the verge of hypothermia.

She felt hands clutch to her through her jacket and a groan left Chiara's pale lips. Then she began to shiver violently, and no matter how hard Julchen clutched her, she would not stop. Her feet rushed to make it to her door, and her hands fumbled with the lock before she realised she had locked it. She adjusted Chiara in her arms, so she could get to her key.

"Hold on Chi," she muttered as she kicked open the door and struggled to put the younger woman on the couch. Chiara was still shaking violently, and her clothes were damp from snow melting through her coat. "We have to get you out of these." She unwound the scarf from around Chiara's neck, and then began unbuttoning her tan overcoat.

She undressed Chiara down to even her underwear, and then ran to go get a blanket. Ugh. She really wished she had paid attention to those Wellness classes in highschool now. She had no idea how to treat hypothermia. She just figured she just had to make the shivering stop and bring her temperature up.

When she returnt to the livingroom, Chiara was a small ball shivering and sweating profusely. Julchen cursed, and realised she probably needed a towel to get the girl dry before wrapping her in the blanket. She cursed as she fumbled with the ministrations. It took her forever to get the shaking woman into the thick yellow blanket.

She laid by her side once she was done. "Please be okay," she murmured against cool yet feverish skin. She continued to murmur the silent plea against the skin until a steady hand curled into her long hair.

"Shhh... Stop that. The whining," Chiara whispered in a delirous murmur. "Isabel you worry too much."

Julchen blinked. Wait. Her name was not...

"I told you. I can... Julchen."

"Yes?"

"I like Julchen. Don't tell her okay? Promise Isa..."

Julchen blinked at her unbelievably. She had no idea what Chiara was yammering on about. She could only make out a few of the stuttered and muttered words. Still, she heard the begging, desperateness of the last part of what she said.

"I promise."

.

.

The first thing Chiara realised when she woke up was that the headache was not gone at all. The second thing she realised was that the blanket she was cocooned in was not her olive green one but a happy yellow. She beat through the drowsy fuzz in her brain to make the oh so very clear observation this was not her dorm room. She wiggled free from the blankets and was greeted with a chill. She shivered and then looked down before diving back beneath the blanket.

She was completely nude from head to foot. She kept herself wrapped in the blanket as she stood on her bare feet and padded to the kitchen. She did not even know whose home this was. All she knew was that music flew from the kitchen and to her ears. She could hear light singing with it as she got closer.

_"Du bist mein Sonnenschein,_

_mein einziger Sonnenschein._

_Du machst mich glücklich,_

_wenn der Himmel grau ist_

_Du wirst nie wissen, Liebchen,_

_ich liebe dich sehr_

_Bitte nimm meinen Sonnenschein nicht weg."_

The voice sounded so very familiar. Then she managed to pick it from her still recovering memory and found herself staring at long white hair that matched long white legs.

"Julchen?" her voice came out too soft, and it hurt her throat rasping out the German name. She ended up coughing and having to balance herself on the counter.

"Chi!" Julchen spun around to her name, and handed Chiara a cup of coffee. "I thought you would be waking up around now! Here!" She indicated a chair, but then she tugged her toward the livingroom instead. "This is more comfortable! Nevermind!"

Julchen was acting strange. She knew the older woman was a little loud sometimes, but this was outrageous. She was practically shouting each word. Plus, she appeared flustered for no apparent reason. It was turning Chiara's horrendous headache into a full grown migraine.

"Julchen...?"

.

.

The rapid movements stopped, and the German woman stiffened before turning around. Her grin was a mask for nervousness as she looked into Chiara's tired eyes. Her tongue felt like cotton in her mouth, and it took her a few seconds to actually use it. "... Yes?"

"What happened? Yesterday?" Chiara flopped down into a chair holding her head in her hands. "Did I do or say-?"

"No!" Julchen said all too quickly, and then she covered it up with a laugh. "Well, yes. You kind of passed out in the snow, and I had to undress you. It's kind of embarrassing." A lie. That was not why Julchen was so jumpy around Chiara, but it did not seem the time for the truth just yet.

Suspicious hazel eyes looked at her, but then a heavy sigh passed Chiara's lips. "Mi spiac... I'm sorry," she said translating her words before she finished. She tilted her head to look more at Julchen. "It must have been a lot of fucking trouble. I'll go home soon."

Chiara looked confused as Julchen shook her head. "As you slept, I read up on some of West's medical books, and you shouldn't leave bed or anything. Plus, I haven't got around to drying your clothes just yet." She wanted Chiara to stay just a little longer.

"So you want me to stay?" Chiara did not seem to understand what was happening at all. She had not expected Julchen's reaction, but for once, she was too tired to argue. "Oi. You know what. Fuck. I don't care. Where's your guest bedroom or whatever?"

Julchen could not help the grin that came across her lips. "I'll lead you to it," she said helping Chiara out of the chair and to her feet.

They walked through the hall together, Chiara close to Julchen and stealing the little body heat the German woman had. Julchen told herself she did not mind, but honestly, since the other night, she could not stay calm around Chiara. It was baffling how words that had practically been indistinguishable had driven her to this point. She stole a glance at Chiara who was looking at her feet as she shuffled alongside her.

Her dark brunette hair was disheveled and wild stray curls cradled her face. A little of her colour had returnt, but she was still too pale to be healthy. She looked a lot more vulnerable without her usual mask of irritation. Instead, the look on Chiara's face was just pure exhaustion as she leant onto Julchen on the way to the guestroom.

Julchen played pretend, and acted like she did not notice.

.

.

A small smile was hidden beneath Chiara's veil of hair. Whatever real reason Julchen had for acting a little not-quite-herself around her, she did not mind at all. This was something she had wanted for a long, long time now. Ever since Freshman inauguration, and Isabel had introduced her to her friends Julchen Beilschmidt and Françoise Bonnefoy, Chiara had been plagued with unremitting thoughts of red eyes and snow-white hair. She had been plagued by images of heavy mascara and dark makeup that complemented pale skin too well.

She had secretly began calling Julchen her Snow White princess whenever she was left to daydream.

Of course that was something she would never actually say. It was not the right time for that just yet. She had to wait just a little while longer. It was not time for her to pour out her heart just yet.

She leant against Julchen, faking exhaustion that was only partially as bad as she let on. From her new place resting against Julchen's arms, she could steal better glances up at the German's face.

Her white hair was long enough to make Rapunzel cry, and it was always somehow perfectly flat and smooth, and it cascaded down around her face and past her waist in a nondescript pattern. Her red eyes looked ahead and bright, giving away to that childishness that was both her bane and her strength.

Chiara looked away before she was caught staring and played pretend. She was going to act like she did not notice just how beautiful Julchen was for a little while longer.

.

.

"Hey... Julchen?"

"Hmn Chiara?"

"... Nevermind. I'll tell you later."

"Kesese! Seriously Chiara?!"

"Yes. I'll tell you later."

"Fine. You have to promise me you'll tell me by the time you get well although."

"Ha. Fine. I promise."


End file.
